The story of Misty, this sweet-faced Pit Bull went viral on the Examiner last month after she made the rounds on the Greenville County Pet Rescue’s Facebook page urgent list, and it was revealed that Misty’s family had returned her to the shelter for farting too much. Has anybody in that family even met a Pit Bull? I don’t think I’ve ever known one that didn’t stink up the joint — but Christ, it’s not a dealbreaker. The Huffington Post writes:

Misty’s story — which inexorably leads one to the conclusion that people can really, really be the worst — was first shared on Examiner.com, prompting outrage and more than one offer to buy sensitive tummy food for the dog. Misty went on the shelter’s “urgent” list, meaning that the year-old doggie, who is friendly and good with other pets, would be euthanized if no one new were to bring her home.

Thankfully though, this story has a happy ending, because — possibly thanks due to the widespread news of her story — Misty will be happily farting up some lucky foster family’s 4th of July festivities this weekend.

Susan Bufano, a shelter spokesperson, told HuffPost by email that Misty will soon be in the care of people who know to expect a little flatulence, and a lot of love.

“We are still evaluating her and have a foster for her,” said Bufano. “We anticipate finding her a home.”

“A little flatulence, and a lot of love”: Words to live by, my friends. Isn’t that all we can really expect from our loved ones, both pets and humans? If excessive flatulence was legitimate grounds to go dump something off to become someone else’s problem, I would have taken my husband back to the shelter years ago.

Yeah, I hear that all the time from **responsible** Pit Bull owners. Makes sense that it’s how you raise them that determines their behavior, but the attacks are so frequent (at least down here in The Wang) that my insurance agent actually made me specify that my Boxer isn’t a Pit. The sad part is that when it happens, the owner is some toothless lowlife who claims that she’s a really sweet dog.

Not arguing that a lot of the people who own pits are dicks. And it sucks for those of us who are professionals and contributing members to society who have to pay higher insurance premiums for the sins of idiots. But I’ll still defend the breed to anyone. Boxers were labeled unfairly toonot all that long ago (also idiotic, they are great).

@Spagett – Hey, I have a question that sounds dumber than it is: what’s “good,” normal Pit behavior? Are they more like terriers, or more like working dogs? They seem like high energy verging on crazy (like an hour of my Boxer’s day), but again that’s my perception based on very little knowledge.

Good question. I can’t speak for all of the breed, but mine has her high energy moments, for sure, and I’d definitely consider them more of a terrier type than a working dog. And that’s why you have to have a good owner for a pit, because although they’re great with adults/children (normally, though they have to learn not to jump or be hyper), they can be very driven to get small animals (but not always especially if socialized, mine lives harmoniously with a cat). At the same time, once they get in their walk or something energetic, they just want to crash. And fart. They’re not a breed for everybody, but for the right owner, they’re awesome. Unfortunately, they’ve become the dog du jour for thugs. They want to please their owner so much, they’re do anything, good, or in the cases you hear about, bad.

Mine leans toward more terrier-type behavior, but they all appreciate the notion of having a job to do (much like any dog). Currently his favorite duty is guarding my clothes on the clothesline.

They’re also incredibly playful, goofy, and very sweet-natured.

Of course, I’ve had to have my friends who work at vet clinics and kennels “reclassify” him, usually as a ‘terrier mix,’ but once as a ‘greyhound/boxer mix’ (their idea), due to this very stigma.

The same stigma which keeps this unfortunate cycle going, which leads to them filling up shelters across the country because they’re the first ones to be breed-restricted, and are often the caveat when it comes to certain types of insurance.

I took my dog (60 pound lab mix) to the vet last weekend, first thing Saturday morning. I was severely hungover and could barely function. She decided that she wanted to bust total ass all over the vet’s lobby and just fart as much as possible. It smelled like a hobo’s camp fire full of spoiled beefaroni. It took every scrap of will and pure human grit to not paint the lobby orange right there.

When I adopted two kittens from a kill shelter I was given two bags of science diet to go with them. I think it’s an expensive brand but the girl kitty was constantly having bad gas. I switched to a couple of different dry food brands (it’s always my priority that actual meat is the first ingredient) and it’s not really a problem anymore. I can sort of understand because I was upset realizing she had all of these issues between this, a bald spot and a big potbelly. The bald spot grew back in (must have been stress from living in the shelter?) and the potbelly has gone away though now it’s replaced by a lot of hanging excess skin, I believe when they fixed her at too young of an age they caused this problem, perhaps this is also related to her gas?

Well it’s settled then. It’s not the breed, it’s the owner. Which is to say that any person who gravitates toward a flatulent, hyper dog with homicidal instincts is not the sharpest tool in the shed. Thanks, Obama!

“The trial court cited the substantial evidence supporting its conclusion that pit bulls, compared to other breeds, cause a disproportionate amount of danger to people. The chief dog warden of Lucas County testified that: (1) when pit bulls attack, they are more likely to inflict severe damage to their victim than other breeds of dogs; (2) pit bulls have killed more Ohioans than any other breed of dog; (3) Toledo police officers fire their weapons in the line of duty at pit bulls more often than they fire weapons at people and all other breeds of dogs combined; (4) pit bulls are frequently shot during drug raids because pit bulls are encountered more frequently in drug raids than any other dog breed…. The evidence presented in the trial court supports the conclusion that pit bulls pose a serious danger to the safety of citizens. The state and the city have a legitimate interest in protecting citizens from the danger posed by this breed of domestic dogs.”

WILLIAM M HOEVELER, US DISTRICT JUDGE, ADOA v Dade County, Florida

Despite plaintiffs’ contention that there is no such animal as a pit bull, plaintiffs’ own experts have written articles about their pedigreed dogs referring to them by the common nickname of pit bull. At trial, these experts identified photographs of dogs as pit bulls, rather than delineating the dogs into any one of the three breeds recognized by the kennel clubs. Moreover, veterinarians commonly identify dogs as pit bulls — rather than one of the three recognized breeds — by their physical characteristics.

Two veterinarians, testifying for the defendants, stated that they are often called upon to identify a dog’s breed because it is an integral part of the animal’s health record. This they do by reference to standard physical characteristics. Generally, these veterinarians testified, owners themselves know what breed their dog is.

There was ample testimony that most people know what breed their dogs are. Although the plaintiffs and their experts claim that the ordinance does not give them enough guidance to enable owners to determine whether their dogs fall within its scope, the evidence established that the plaintiffs themselves often use the term “pit bull” as a shorthand method of referring to their dogs. Numerous magazine and newspaper articles, including articles in dog fancier magazines, refer to pit bull dogs. Veterinarians typically refer to the three recognized breeds and mixed breeds with conforming characteristics as pit bulls. In addition, the veterinarians who testified stated that most of their clients know the breeds of their dogs.

DON BAUERMEISTER, Council Bluffs, IA prosecutor

All dogs can “get into it”. The reality, though, for way too many dog owners is the sudden, unprovoked, violent and very serious attack from a pit bull. These folks have to pay the immediate vet bill. Yes, sometimes, the Court is able to intervene and order restitution, but what about the dead dog. What about the psychological damage to those who had to witness the attack. I have seen pit bulls attack and injure other dogs. It is something that you will never forget. A very purposeful bite, indeed. Pit bulls are pros and the rest of the dog world are amateurs. Man made them this way.

KORY NELSON, Denver, CO City Attorney

The most significant point about the justification for bans or restrictions of pit bulls is that these are not dependent upon a claim that every pit bull has a higher than average propensity for attacking humans. The justification is based on the clear evidence that, as a group, pit bulls, compared to other breeds, generally have a higher propensity to exhibit unique behavioral traits during an attack.

These behaviors havea higher likelihood of causing more severe injuries or death. The Colorado Dog Fanciers trial court made this clear, stating that, while it could not be proven that pit bulls bite more than other dogs, there was “credible evidence that Pit Bull dog attacks are more severe and more likely to result in fatalities.” The court, in great detail, noted fourteen separate areas of differences, including: strength, manageability and temperament, unpredictability of aggression, tenacity, pain tolerance and manner of attack.

A municipality that is experiencing a problem with pit bull attacks needs to consider for itself the best course of action to protect its citizens, especially those most likely to be unable to defend themselves from the tenacious and sustained attack of a pit bull, who will likely bite, hold, and tear at its victim despite efforts to stop it. However, given the clear rational evidence, breed-specific legislation is still a legally viable option.There is no new evidence that undermines the holdings of Colorado Dog Fanciers, only new relevant evidence that adds additional support for BSL, as the differential treatment of pit bulls is based upon logical, rational evidence from the scientific field of ethology.

BOB JOHNSTONE, Cincinnati, OH city attorney

We have amassed what I consider an overwhelming amount of information that demonstrates to me that pit bulls are, by far, responsible for more fatal or serious attacks than any other breed.

JUDGE VICTOR E. BIANCHINI, San Diego, CA

A pit bull is the closest thing to a wild animal there is in a domesticated dog.

Laws for the protection of domestic animals are regarded as having but a limited application to dogs and cats; and, regardless of statute, a ferocious dog is looked upon as hostis humani generis, and as having no right to his life which man is bound to respect.

My Legislation Proposal to be enacted by all states,
cities and counties in the US & Canada.

All dogs must be:
Or all dangerous dogs must be:
Or all dangerous molosser breeds, including pit bulls (American Staffordshire Terrier, Staffordshire bull terriers, American pit bull terriers, American Bulldog, Bull mastiffs, dogo argentinos, fila brasieros, presa canarios, Japanese Tosa, cane corsos and their mixes and any dog generally recognized as a pit bull or pit bull terrier and includes a dog of mixed breed with predominant pit bull or pit bull terrier characteristics), rottweilers, chow chows, Doberman pinschers, German shepherds, must be:

* Licensed
* All Pit bull type dogs Micro-chipped with any bite history in database for reference.
* Insured: All dogs must be covered by mandatory liability insurance of $100,000 min. generic and $500,000 after a skin breaking bite with insurance companies based on actuarial statistic’s determining said rate.
* Spayed/neutered (except for limited approved show dog breeders)
* All breeds involved in any bite incident must be kenneled in a locked five-sided enclosure with concrete bottom.

For all other dog owners language can be written that enclosure such as fences must be capable of containing your dog period, such generic language puts the onus on the owner, have the fines be so onerous that said owner will ensure this they make this so.

1,000 the first time, double the second time and permanent confiscation the third time with a ban on said person from owning any dog within city limits, this will create an effective outcome directly or indirectly.
* All dogs must be on leashes outside of home enclosure
* All molosser breeds must also be muzzled outside of home enclosure

* No transport of declared dangerous dogs for the purpose of re-homing. (Dangerous dogs must be dealt with where their history is known.)
* All of the rules listed above also apply to rescues: rescued dogs must be licensed and subject to inspection.

$1,000 fine for noncompliance
Elimination of the one-bite rule in all of the 50 U.S. states
Manslaughter charges for owner of dog that kills a human
Felony charge for owner of dog that mauls human, dog, or other domestic animal.

Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Pit bulls are not only problematic in large cities; they threaten mid-sized cities and small towns as well. Located in the heartland, Council Bluffs, Iowa has about 60,000 citizens.

After a series of devastating attacks, beginning in 2003, Council Bluffs joined over 600 U.S. cities and began regulating pit bulls.

The results of the Council Bluffs pit bull ban, which began January 1, 2005, show the positive effects such legislation can have on public safety in just a few years time:1.

“Despite these limitations and concerns
(about identifying the exact ‘breed’ of pit bull type dog responsible for a
killing), the data indicate that Rottweilers and pit bull-type dogs accounted
for 67% of human DBRF in the United States between 1997 and 1998.

It is extremely unlikely that they accounted for anywhere near 60% of dogs in the
United States during that same period and, thus, there appears to be a
breed-specific problem with fatalities.”
****************************************************************
In June 2013, after a Bay Area child was killed by a family pit bull, San Francisco Animal Care and Control cited the decrease in pit bull bites and euthanasia since the adoption of a 2005 pit bull law.

After 12-year-old Nicholas Faibish was fatally mauled by his family’s pit bulls, the city adopted a mandatory spay-neuter law for the breed. The reasoning was that fixed dogs tend to be calmer and better socialized.

Since then, San Francisco has impounded 14 percent fewer pit bulls and euthanized 29 percent fewer – which is a “significant decrease,” said Rebecca Katz, director of the city’s Animal Care and Control department.

Another significant indicator, she said, is that there have been 28 pit bull bites reported in the past three years – and 1,229 bites by other breeds during the same period. In the three-year period before that, there were 45 pit bull bites and 907 incidents involving other breeds.

Results of mandatory breed-specific S/N in SF: success in San Francisco, where in just eight years there was a 49% decline in the number of pit-bulls impounded, a 23% decline in the number of pit-bulls euthanized, and an 81% decline in the number of pit-bulls involved in fatal and disfiguring attacks.

When the City of Auburn debated enacting a pit bull law in January 2010, Sgt. Bill Herndon of the San Francisco Police Department weighed in about the success of San Francisco’s 2005 pit bull law:

“Since requiring all pit bulls to be neutered, they say they are finding fewer pit bulls involved in biting incidents.

Sgt. Bill Herndon, of the San Francisco Police Department’s vicious dog unit, said the numbers and severity of pit bull attacks are down since San Francisco enacted an ordinance in 2005 after the mauling death of 12-year-old Nicholas Faibish.
“The number of complaints of mean pit bulls has dropped dramatically,” Herndon said.

San Francisco’s animal control department reports more than 30 percent fewer pit bulls at the shelter or being euthanized.”
****************************************************************
Ed Boks, Executive director, Yavapai Humane Society (responsible Jan 2004 as director City Center for Animal Care & Control in NYC for trying to rename pit bulls New Yorkies; is pb owner)

Pit bull type dogs represent 3000% the actuarial risk compared to other types of dogs.
Insurance companies will have calculated the risks the other listed breeds represent based on what they’ve had to pay out through the years.

This isn’t ‘prejudice’, this is cold statistical reality. Actuarial realities don’t yield to sentiment or a feeling of entitlement — they just are what they are

Pit bulls have been banned the world over as well as 0ver 600 cities, towns and counties in the US alone.

The prohibition on the pit bull type dog wouldn’t be anything unusual.
In 1989, Miami may have been one of the first communities to ban pit bulls — but it sure hasn’t been the last, raising questions as to whether it’s only a matter of time before every municipality imposes some sort of regulation on the animal.

Already, more than a dozen countries have banned pit bulls, making it, quite possibly, the most regulated and feared dog in the canine world.

Composed from various online resources, here’s a breakdown of the bans and regulations:

Countries that have enacted regulation on pit bulls (or some deviation):

**In 1991, Singapore prohibited the entry of pit bulls into the country.

In April 2008, the Springfield-Greene County Health Department released data to a local TV station – following the City of Springfield’s adoption of a 2006 pit bull ban:

“The Springfield-Greene County Health Department reports that dog bites and vicious dog complaints are declining since the implementation of the Pit Bull Ordinance in the City of Springfield two years ago. In 2005 the health department fielded 18 vicious dog complaints, but only eight in 2007. Bites were down from 102 in 2005 to 87 in 2007.”

“The ordinance, which requires pit bull owners to register their dogs annually, has also resulted in fewer pit bull dogs being impounded at the Springfield Animal Shelter.

In 2005 there were 502 pit bull and pit bull mixes impounded, compared to only 252 in 2007.

According to statistics taken from the Springfield-Greene County Health Department, as reported in the News-Leader March 12, for the three-year period beginning in 2004, there were 42 “vicious” animal attacks recorded in the jurisdiction covered.

After passing the local ordinance banning or strictly controlling the ownership of pit bull or pit bull types, the number of attacks has dropped dramatically.

For the five-year period from 2007-2011, there was a total of 14.

“Because we are impounding fewer pit bulls, we’ve also seen overcrowding in our shelter subside,” says assistant director Clay Goddard. “It is the natural tendency of pit bulls to fight, so our animal control staff are forced to segregate them in individual pens.

When we have several pit bulls in the shelter simultaneously, this severely limits space for other dogs.”
***************************************************
Washington

In 2008, the City of Wapato passed an ordinance that bans new pit bulls, rottweilers and mastiffs. Nine months after its adoption, in March 2009, Wapato Police Chief Richard Sanchez reported successful results:

“Nine months into the ban and police calls about vicious dogs have been cut in half. The Wapato Police tell Action News they’ve gone from 18 reports in January, February and March of last year to seven so far in ’09. “Seven calls in three months… that’s nothing,” says Chief Richard Sanchez, Wapato Police Department.

When the City of Woonsocket was debating a pit bull ordinance in June 2009, the animal control supervisor in Pawtucket, John Holmes, spoke about the enormous success of Pawtucket’s 2003 pit bull ban:

“Holmes says he predicted that it would take two years for Pawtucket to experience the full benefit of the law after it was passed, but the results were actually apparent in half the time.

“It’s working absolutely fantastic,” said Holmes. “We have not had a pit bull maiming in the city since December of 2004.”

Holmes says the law also capped the number of legal pit bulls in Pawtucket to about 70 animals.”

In July 2013, Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien and City Council President David Moran sent a joint letter to Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee asking that he reject a statewide anti-BSL measure before him.

While they agree that some pit bulls can make good pets, said Moran and Grebien, “the number and severity of pit bull attacks against people and other animals in the early 2000s required us to take the action we did.”

Prior to the 2004 city ordinance, Pawtucket Animal Control officers responded to many calls about serious pit bull attacks against people and animals, according to the letter. Two of the worst cases involved a nine-month pregnant woman and a child.

While proponents of the bill argue that breed-specific bans don’t work, said Grebien and Moran, “the results in Pawtucket dramatically prove that they do work.”

In 2003, the year before the local ban on pit bulls went into effect, 135 pit bulls, all from Pawtucket, were taken in at the Pawtucket Animal Control Shelter for a variety of health and safety reasons, with 48 of those dogs needing to be put down.

In 2012, 72 pit bulls were taken in, only 41 from Pawtucket, with only six needing to be euthanized, according to the two officials.
“That’s a tremendous improvement,” they state in their letter.
***************************************************
Per section 8-55 of Denvers pit bull ban:

A pit bull, is defined as any dog that is an APBT, Am Staf Terrier, Staff Bull Terrier, or any dog displaying the majority of physical traits of anyone (1) or more of the above breeds, or any dog exhibiting those distinguishing characteristics which substantially conform to the standards set by the AKC or UKC for any of the above breed.

Over the course of 22 years, the Denver ban has withstood numerous battles in state and federal courts. It has been used as a model for over 600 USA cities that legislate pit bulls, as well as US Navy, Air Force, Marine and Army bases ( so much for Sgt Stubby).

without it, we’d see just what we see in Miss E’s lame replies. Every pit owner would claim their land shark was anything but a pit bull.

Miami Dade county voted 66% to keep their pit bull ban, just as it is worded, last year.

In a discussion of the Denver ban, Assistant City Attorney Kory Nelson recently told the San Francisco Chronicle that:

“Since 1989, when that city instituted a pit bull ban, ‘we haven’t had one serious pit bull attack,’ said Kory Nelson, a Denver assistant city attorney. His city’s assertion that ‘pit bulls are more dangerous than other breeds of dog’ has withstood legal challenges, he said.

‘We were able to prove there’s a difference between pit bulls and other breeds of dogs that make pit bulls more dangerous,’ he said.”

In a November 2011, public health statistics published by Global Toronto showed that pit bull bites dropped dramatically after Ontario adopted the Dog Owners Liability Act in 2005, an act that banned pit bulls:

The number of dog bites reported in Toronto has fallen since a ban on pit bulls took effect in 2005, public health statistics show.

A total of 486 bites were recorded in 2005. That number fell generally in the six years following, to 379 in 2010.

Provincial laws that banned ‘pit bulls,’ defined as pit bulls, Staffordshire terriers, American Staffordshire terriers, American pit bull terriers and dogs resembling them took effect in August 2005. Existing dogs were required to be sterilized, and leashed and muzzled in public.

Bites in Toronto blamed on the four affected breeds fell sharply, from 71 in 2005 to only six in 2010. This accounts for most of the reduction in total bites.
***************************************************

Salina, KS

Rose Base, director of the Salina Animal Shelter who lobbied for the ordinance, told the Salina Journal:

The ordinance has made a difference, she said. Records at the Salina Animal Shelter indicate there were 24 reported pit bull bites in 2003 and 2004, and only five since — none from 2009 to present.

Salina has 62 registered pit bulls, Base said. Before the ordinance she guessed there were “close to 300.” Since the first of this year three of the registered pit bulls have died of old age.

“We definitely haven’t had the severity of bites that we had in the past,” Base said. “Our community has been somewhat safer because of the law that was passed
***************************************************
Prince George’s County, MD
Prince George’s County passed a pit bull ban in 1996. In August 2009, Rodney Taylor, associate director of the county’s Animal Management Group, said that the number of pit bull biting incidents has fallen:

“Taylor said that during the first five to seven years of the ban, animal control officials would encounter an average of 1,200 pit bulls a year but that in recent years that figure has dropped by about half. According to county statistics, 36 pit bull bites, out of 619 total dog bites, were recorded in 2008, down from 95 pit bull bites, out of a total of 853, in 1996.”
***************************************************
Salina KS (a second article)

Note that they admit that the pit bull ban did not reduce the number of bites, but it did reduce the severity of bites reported by all breeds. Proof that when pit bull deniers find a jurisdiction that banned pit bulls, but reported no decrease in overall bites, is a moot point. Its death and dismemberment we are focusing on, not bite counts.

In the monthly city newsletter, In Touch, published in September 2006, the City of Salina reported that the pit bull ban adopted in 2005 significantly reduced pit bull biting incidents in just a 12 month period.

The number of pit bull bites depicted in the “Salina Pit Bull Bites Reported” graph shows 2002 with 13 pit bull bites, 2003 with 11 pit bull bites, 2004 with 15 pit bull bites and 2005 with only one bite. The newsletter notes that “animal bites reported have remained constant, but the severity of bites have decreased dramatically” since the enactment of the pit bull ban

About 31,400 dogs attacked about 61,500 other animals in the U.S. in 2013, killing 43,500 and seriously injuring 18,100.

The animals killed included about 12,000 dogs, 8,000 cats, 6,000 hooved animals, and 17,000 other small domestic animals, primarily poultry.

The seriously injured included about 12,400 dogs, 4,000 cats, and 1,700 hooved animals. Few small mammals and poultry survived reported dog attacks.

Pit bulls inflicted 99% of the total fatal attacks on other animals (43,000); 96% of the fatal attacks on other dogs (11,520); 95% of the fatal attacks on livestock (5,700) and on small mammals and poultry (16,150); and 94% of the fatal attacks on cats (11,280).

About 30,000 pit bulls were involved in attacks on other animals, many of them killing multiple other animals.

There are about 3.2 million pit bulls in the U.S. at any given time, according to the annual Animal24-7 surveys of dogs offered for sale or adoption via online classified ads.

Thus in 2013 about one pit bull in 107 killed or seriously injured another animal, compared with about one dog in 50,000 of other breeds.

Nationally, fatal and disfiguring attacks by dogs from shelters and rescues have exploded from zero in the first 90 years of the 20th century to 80 since 2010, including 58 by pit bulls, along with 22 fatal & disfiguring attacks by other shelter dogs, mostly Rottweilers & bull mastiffs.

Altogether, 33 U.S. shelter dogs have participated in killing people since 2010, including 24 pit bulls, seven bull mastiffs, and two Rottweilers.

The only dogs rehomed from U.S. shelters to kill anyone before 2000 were two wolf hybrids, rehomed in 1988 and 1989, respectively.

I have logged fatal & disfiguring dog attacks in the U.S. and Canada since September 1982.

Of the 4,843 dogs involved in fatal and disfiguring attacks on humans occurring in the U.S. & Canada since September 1982, when I began logging the data, 3,309 (68%) were pit bulls; 551 were Rottweilers; 4,139 (85%) were of related molosser breeds, including pit bulls, Rottweilers, mastiffs, bull mastiffs, boxers, and their mixes.

Of the 558 human fatalities, 294 were killed by pit bulls; 87 were killed by Rottweilers; 422 (75%) were killed by molosser breeds.

Of the 2,934 people who were disfigured, 2,007 (68%) were disfigured by pit bulls; 322 were disfigured by Rottweilers; 2,493 (84%) were disfigured by molosser breeds.

Pit bulls–exclusive of their use in dogfighting–also inflict more than 70 times as many fatal and disfiguring injuries on other pets and livestock as on humans, a pattern unique to the pit bull class.

Fatal and disfiguring attacks by dogs from shelters and rescues have exploded from zero in the first 90 years of the 20th century to 80 in the past four years, including 58 by pit bulls, along with 22 fatal & disfiguring attacks by other shelter dogs, mostly Rottweilers & bull mastiffs.

The only dogs rehomed from U.S. shelters to kill anyone, ever, before 2000 were two wolf hybrids in 1988 and 1989. 33 U.S. shelter dogs & one U.K. shelter dog have participated in killing people since 2010, including 24 pit bulls, seven bull mastiffs, and two Rottweilers.

Surveys of dogs offered for sale or adoption indicate that pit bulls and pit mixes are less than 6% of the U.S. dog population; molosser breeds, all combined, are 9%.

24 People dead by dog attack in 2014
Pit bull type dogs killed 21 of them.
13 of the dead are children.

Stars indicate people killed by a ‘family’ pit bull – ones that had
been raised and cherished as an indoor pet, ‘never showed aggression
before’, and knew the victim.

Child fatalities by pit bull type dog (12)
Kara E. Hartrich, 4 years old, Bloomington, Illinois. **
Je’vaeh Maye, 2 years old, Temple Texas. **
Braelynn Rayne Coulter, 3 years old, High Point, North Carolina. **
Kenneth Santillan, 13 years old, Patterson, N.J. by a Bullmastiff
Raymane Camari Robinson, 2 years old, Killeen, TX by a Bullmastiff **
Mia Derouen, 4 years old, Houma, Louisiana **
Christopher Malone, 3 years old, Thornton, MS **
John Harvard, 5 year old, Riverside, AL **
Kassi Haith, 4 years old, Felton, Del.
Demonta Collins, 13 years old, Augusta, Georgia
he dashed into traffic as he was running from a pit bull attacking him and was hit by a car and was killed.
Davon Jiggetts,17 years old, Riverdale, Georgia
he dashed into traffic as he was running from a pit bull attacking him and was hit by a car as was the pit bull, both were killed.
Holden William Garrison-10 weeks old, Springfield Township, MI **
Friends of family state that the dog is a Pit bull Mix a Catahoula Hound mixed with Pit Bull.

If 27 of 33 dead were killed by pit bull attack, that’s 82% dead by pit attack, 9% dead by ‘molosser’, 3% by some kind of GSD mix, 3% by a husky + possibly pit mix, 3% by Shiba Inu.

If you count the pit-mix mastiffs as pit bull types, that’s 91% killed by attacking pit bull types. Pit types are only about 6% of the entire dog population.

The man who ran into traffic kept pit bulls himself. He knew perfectly well what the two stranger pit bulls that were chasing him would do if they caught him, so he preferred to risk a swift death by oncoming car.

From 1930 to 1960
when less than 1% of the dogs in the U.S. were sterilized & most
still were allowed to run free, but far fewer than 1% were pit bulls, the U.S.
had a grand total of 15 dog attack fatalities:

9 by pit bulls, 2 by Dobermans, four by unidentified mutts.
The U.S. in 1960 had 611,000 total reported dog bites.

The numbers of bites dropped to 585,000 by 1966, then
began a steady rise to 4.7 million plus.

The numbers of fatalities climbed to an average of about 10 per year by
1990, when pit bulls were about 2% of the dog population, rose steadily for the next 15 years or so, consistently reached 20-plus by the end of the 20th century, as pit bulls reached 3% of the dog population, then soared into the mid-30’s post-2010.

Pits & their close mixes are now between 5% and 6% of the dog population.

Among survivors, pit bulls are responsible for the most serious mauling’s, and any
insurance company will tell you that they cause the highest insurance claims as
a pit bull attack is a sustained action that is repeated until someone or something stops the pit bull.

A bite is a one time action that doesn’t need a police officer’s intervention.
Pet ownership is another issue.

Pit bulls inflicted 99% of the total fatal attacks on other animals (43,000); 96% of the fatal attacks on other dogs (11,520); 95% of the fatal attacks on livestock (5,700) and on small mammals and poultry (16,150); and 94% of the fatal attacks on cats (11,280).

In 2013 about one pit bull in 107 killed or seriously injured
another animal, compared with about one dog in 50,000 of other breeds.

Discrimination against pit bulls is not the problem.
It is normal dogs that are discriminated against.

Denial of the rights of (non pit bull ) pet owners to safely enjoy, and love a pet is the issue.

When the actions of pitbulls continue to cause harm and inhibit the safe use and enjoyment of pets, and public and private property, the pit bull dog and its owners are selfishly taking away the liberties of other human beings.

“There is a difference with the pit bulls. In the last two years we’ve seen 56 dog injuries that were so severe the patient had to be admitted to the hospital so this doesn’t count just a little bite and then goes to the emergency room. Of those 56, 21 were pit bulls. And then when we look at our data even further, of the kids that were most severely injured, those that were in the hospital for more than 8 days or had life threatening injuries, 100% of those were pit bulls.

STEPHEN COHN, MD, professor of surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center

“I think this is a public health hazard, this particular dog. We just have to have them contained in a way that protects the general public. I don’t want to see another kid come in dead.”

JOHN BINI, MD, chief of surgery at Wilford Hall Medical Center

“There are going to be outspoken opponents of breed legislation, who say: ‘My pit bulls lie with my baby and play with my rabbit.’ And that’s fine. I just think we’re seeing something here, and I think it does warrant a discussion as to whether this is a risk that a community wants to take.”

MORTALITY, MAULING, AND MAIMING BY VICIOUS DOGS, April 2011 Annals of Surgery

“Fortunately, fatal dog attacks are rare, but there seems to be a distinct relationship between the severity and lethality of an attack and the breed responsible,” they wrote in an article published in the April issue of the medical journal Annals of Surgery. “These breeds should be regulated in the same way in which other dangerous species, such as leopards, are regulated.”

One out of every 40 Pit Bulls (2.5%) and about one out of 75 Chow Chows (1.4%) generated a reported human bite each year (Table 29; Figure 7).

One out of 100 Rottweilers (1%) caused a reported bite, and less than one out of 250 German Shepherds (0.37%) bit a human each year, not statistically different from the average for all dogs combined (0.53%).

Huskies, Dobermans, and Australian Shepherds had bite rates slightly lower than German Shepherds but higher than Labrador Retrievers.

Less than one in every 500 Labrador retrievers (0.15%) was associated with a reported bite each year. All other breeds examined individually, including Poodles, Cocker Spaniels, and Dachshunds, had bite rates lower than Labrador Retrievers.

Odds ratios for each of the five most commonly biting dog breeds versus all others presented similar findings (Table 30). The odds of a Pit Bull in Bexar County causing a bite were 5 times greater than the odds for all other breeds combined, at 4.9 to 1.

Chow Chows and Rottweilers also had odds ratios significantly greater than the average, at 2.9 to 1 and 1.8 to 1, respectively. The odds ratios for German Shepherds and Labrador Retrievers were significantly lower than the average, at 0.67 to 1 and

Dr Antvey sees at least five dog-bite victims a month in his emergency room. Unfortunately, he said, “the biggest offender is the pit bull.”

MELISSA ARCA, MD

The reality is that any dog can bite, and statistically speaking, a child is most likely to be bitten by the family dog or a dog that they know. When you’re talking about bite severity resulting in life-threatening and even fatal injuries, pit bulls and Rottweilers are the main culprits.

Experience absolutely colors our perception, and in this case I can’t help but be affected by what I’ve seen. I will never forget a young child I treated in the ER during my pediatric residency. She suffered severe facial lacerations and tears to her face after a pit bull attack in her local park.

Dog bites of the facial region are increasing in children according to the Center for Disease Control. To evaluate the epidemiology of such injuries in our medical provider region, we undertook a retrospective review of those children treated for facial, head and neck dog bite wounds at a level 1 trauma center.

Most dog bites occurred in or near the home by an animal known to the child/family. Most injuries were soft tissue related, however more severe bites and injuries were observed in attacks from the pit-bull and Rottweiler breeds.

Younger (under five years) children sustained more of the injuries requiring medical treatment. Injury Severity Scales were determined as well as victim and payer mix demographics, type and characteristics of injury, and complications from the attack.

DR RICHARD SATTIN, chief of unintentional-injuries section of the Centers of Disease Control

We’re trying to focus public attention on this greatly underestimated public hazard.

In 1979, pit bulls accounted for 20 percent of fatal attacks by dogs. That figure had risen to 62 percent by 1988.

Nobody knows the dog population of the United States or the exact breakdown by breed. We do not believe that pit bulls represent anywhere near 42% percent of dogs in the United States. Therefore, we believe that the pit bull excess in deaths is real and growing.

ROBERT D. NEWMAN, M.D.

As a pediatrician I was disturbed to read Vicki Hearne’s assertion that there are no bad breeds, just bad dogs (Op-Ed, April 15). There is ample evidence to suggest that certain breeds of dogs are more dangerous to children than others.

From 1979 to 1994, there were 177 known dog-bite-related fatalities in the United States. Of these fatalities, 66 percent were caused by five breeds: pit bull, Rottweiler, shepherd, husky and malamute.

If you include crosses among these five breeds, that number rises to 82 percent. Other breeds, like Labrador retrievers and golden retrievers were not implicated in a single fatality during this same period.

I laud the American Kennel Club’s attempt to include information about dog breeds considered ”not good with children” in the coming edition of ”The Complete Dog Book,” and lament the fact that the book is being recalled at the request of some breeders.

Pit bull attacks are typically the most severe, and in about one-third of all attacks, the animals are family pets or belong to close friends.

That should be the message, that these dogs should not be around children, adults are just as likely to be victims.

Everyone should be extremely cautious.

DR. MICHAEL FEALY

When a Pit Bull is involved the bites are worse. When they bite, they bite and lock and they don’t let go… they bite lock and they rip and they don’t let go.

DR. CHRISTOPHER DEMAS

Bites from pit bulls inflict much more damage, multiple deep bites and ripping of flesh and are unlike any other domestic animal I’ve encountered. Their bites are devastating – close to what a wildcat or shark would do.

DR. AMY WANDEL, plastic surgeon

I see just as many dog bites from dogs that are not pit bulls as bites from pit bulls. The big difference is pit bulls are known to grab onto something and keep holding so their damage they create is worse than other breeds.

DR. PATRICK BYRNE, Johns Hopkins Hospital

I can’t think of a single injury of this nature that was incurred by any other species other than a pit bull or a rottweiler.

ANDREW FENTON, M.D.

As a practicing emergency physician, I have witnessed countless dog bites. Invariably, the most vicious and brutal attacks I have seen have been from the pit bull breed.

Many of the victims have been children. In a recent study from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, pit bull attacks accounted for more ER visits than all other breeds combined.

In young children, the most common part of the body injured was the face. Numerous studies have proven that the number-one cause of dog bite fatalities is the pit bull breed.

I am certain that many attacks are due to owner negligence, but the fact remains that many were unpredictable and were perpetrated by formerly “loving and loyal” pets.

Dr. Chagnon has every right to leave our town as she claims she will if pit bulls are banned, just like every one of her patients has the right not to attend her clinic where she brings her pit bulls.

I applaud Mayor Pro Tem Joanne Sanders for bringing this issue to the forefront. In the interest of public safety, I recommend we enforce a spay/neuter requirement on pit bulls while reviewing and revamping all of our policies relating to animal bites.

Opinion: There is no need for pit bulls
By Dr. David A. Billmire June 29, 2014

Dr. Billmire is professor and director of the Division of Craniofacial and Pediatric Plastic Surgery at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

As one who, for the last 30 years, has been on the receiving end of the dog-bite injuries that pass through the Children’s Hospital Emergency Room, as well as on the staff at the Shriners Hospitals for Children where we see the late effects of these injuries from across the nation, I can categorically tell you that the problems associated with dog bites are indeed breed-specific.

When I started my career, the most common dog-bite injuries were from German shepherds and occasionally retrievers. These injuries were almost always provoked, such as food-related or stepping on the dog, and in almost every instance, the dog reacted with a single snap and release – essentially a warning shot. There were no pack attacks.

Starting about 25 years ago, my colleagues and I started to see disturbingly different types of injuries. Instead of a warning bite, we saw wounds where the flesh was torn from the victim. There were multiple bite wounds covering many different anatomical sites. The attacks were generally unprovoked, persistent and often involved more than one dog. In every instance the dog involved was a pit bull or a pit bull mix.

Now, I am a dog lover and virtually every one of my family members has a dog. But it is a fact that different dogs have always been bred for specific qualities. My sheltie herded, my daughter’s setter flushes birds and my pug sits on my lap – this is what they are bred for. Pit bulls were bred to fight and kill and, unfortunately, many current breeders favor these aggressive traits. There is no need for any dog with the characteristics.

I recently gave a talk summarizing my 30 years of practice in pediatric plastic and reconstructive surgery, and one segment was titled “Why I Hate Pit Bulls.” I watched a child bleed to death one night in our operating room because a pit bull had torn his throat out. I have had to rebuild the skull of a child who had his ears and entire scalp torn off.

I am currently reconstructing the face of a child, half of whose face has been torn off down to the bone. I have had to rebuild noses, lips, eyelids, jaws and cheeks of numerous children. On older children, I have had to reconstruct legs and hands. The unfortunate young victim whose recent attack has initiated this discussion will bear the scars of this attack for the rest of her life.

Based on my extensive experience, I believe that the risk posed by pit bulls is equivalent to placing a loaded gun with the safety off on the coffee table. In my opinion, these dogs should be banned. I know this is an unpopular stand in some circles, but how many mauled children do we have to see before we realize the folly of allowing these dogs to exist?

The arguments made by advocates of these dogs are the same arguments made by people who feel that assault weapons are an essential part of daily living. There are plenty of breeds available that peacefully coexist with human society. There is no need for pit bulls.

In 2011, the Annals of Surgery published a critical peer-reviewed scientific study pertaining to severe and fatal pit bull injuries (Mortality, Mauling and Maiming by Vicious Dogs, by John K. Bini, et al.), authored by doctors at San Antonio University Hospital.

In the landmark 2012 Tracey v. Solesky decision, which declared pit bulls “inherently dangerous,” the highest court in Maryland cited the entire abstract of this study. The conclusions by the University Hospital doctors:

pit bull Conclusions: Attacks by pit bulls are associated with higher morbidity rates, higher hospital charges, and a higher risk of death than are attacks by other breeds of dogs. Strict regulation of pit bulls may substantially reduce the US mortality rates related to dog bites.

The majority of the San Antonio Express-News article pertains to this study and a rehearsed rehashing of the 30-year old pit bull debate.

One of the primary authors of the study, Dr. Stephen Cohn, is interviewed in the article. “We’ve had people that have almost lost their legs just going out for a run,”
said Dr. Stephen Cohn, a professor of surgery at the Health Science Center.
“This is a complete hazard for all of us.”

“I’m sure there are lovely pitbulls but I know the capacity of pitbulls to injure because of how they’re engineered.” — Judge Judy

I thought I was done with pitbulls, with thinking about little Zanaibou Drame and all the Internet postulating about the two.

But the Cincinnati police shooting last Friday of a stray pitbull in Bond Hill brought it all back to me.

This, it seems, is pitbull season.

Or, has it always been and I/we have been asleep? Or, is it that pits are appearing and attacking in such frequency that the media is doing due diligence in reporting on these dogs?

Regardless, in this hour of the pitbull, I am again thinking about Zainabou, so much so that the 6-year-old — violently attacked June 4 by two pitbulls owned by her neighbors, a mother-and-son charged by police with drug dealing and gun possession — has shown up in my dreams.

In them, I am visiting her classroom, listening to her young classmates talk about what kind of girl she is, how much fun she is to play and learn with and what they will say to her when she returns to school knowing she will not be able to verbally respond to them.

When she does return they are comforting her the earnest way children do, knowing she has so much she wants to say to them but cannot. They stare at her but they also want to sit beside her at lunch and be her buddy on the playground.

It comforts her for now but her family thinks about the rest of her life.

Doctors could not save the girl’s tongue severed during the dogs’ attacks and it’s likely she will never speak again.

There are presently nearly 100 comments from pitbull lovers and pitbull detractors on CityBeat.com in response to my June 11 column, “The Pitbull Profile.”

Some of the pitbull proponents cry “racism” at my description that typical pitbull owners are, among others, white trash meth cooks or drug dealers who use the dogs as vicious protection against the law and drug thieves. Those calling for the ban of pitbulls call this tactical outcry of “canine racism” a mere distraction from the larger issue: Pitbulls are ultimately dangerous animals regardless of how gently and lovingly they’re raised and pitbull attacks are on the rise.

I stay mum to all that bickering and let the Internet chatterers slug it out; however, I am struck by how pitbulls have been relegated to outcast status among dog breeds.

Even by me.

But heinous things pitbulls do reflect on the pitbull community writ large, so pitbull criticism feels to their owners — to responsible owners — like direct criticism of all of them and not merely of the negligent owners who let their animals roam and terrorize neighborhoods.

And though pet owners are now creepily calling themselves “pet parents,” pet ownership does not come anywhere close to parenting human children.

I don’t doubt the love between owners and pets is real and valid, it just isn’t human love.

I would ask all pitbull owners to pause all their emotional transference, all their misguided anger, the claims of breed discrimination and hatred, even and especially all their pitbull pride and think for five uninterrupted minutes about the terror, confusion and silence of Zainabou Drame, whose life was irrevocably changed when two pits latched onto her face, maimed her and stole her voice.

Which brings me around to race and class.

Because this is, like most things dividing us in America and Cincinnati, couched somewhat in race and class.

In this city’s black ghettos I see plenty of black people with pitbulls; we have romanticized a bad boy/stud relationship with pitbulls co-starring a fetishized obsession with the movie Scarface. The whole sordid thing is soundtracked by 2 Chainz or some other slack-jawed rapper.

In these vignettes, blacks sport pitbulls like they’re matching parts of their outfits when really the pits are extensions of their personas: intimidating and ready to attack on a whim.

The people who left their pits unsupervised to attack Zanaibou are black folks. I have noticed, however, that white people are generally in some supernaturally pious — and staunchly defensive — relationships with their dogs.

These relationships transcend my understanding.

At Black Meetings we talk all the time about how white people treat their dogs too much like precious little people and how that treatment goes eerily too far.

We don’t get it, just like I’m sure there are things we do culturally — obsessing over whether or not Beyonce and Jay-Z are combing Blue Ivy’s nappy hair — that doesn’t resonate or make sense to white people. (Hell, that preoccupation doesn’t even make sense to me.)

In 2007 When Michael Vick was charged, convicted and imprisoned for being part of a large dog-fighting ring, many blacks at the time thought he should have been punished but that his punishment — 21 months in prison — was too stiff and did not fit the crime.

Meanwhile, the media exploded with white vitriol, with white folks who wanted Vick sentenced to life and to be forever banned from the NFL because white dog-love trumps a black man’s reach for contrition and rehabilitation.

The black family of man’s curious and violent relationship with dogs might have something to do with this cultural and racial division.

We have, after all, been hunted as runaways by dogs, attacked during protests for our civil rights by dogs and, historically, treated worse than dogs.

Forgive us if we don’t have white-deep, white-abiding relationships with dogs ranking them superior to human lives in our own lives.

There must be balance.

Zainabou’s family will miss the girl she used to be more than Zontae and Volores Irby will miss their two dead pitbulls.

Pit bulls make up 6 percent of the dog population in Canada and the US, but they are responsible for 68 percent of dog attacks and 52 percent of dog-related deaths from 1982 to 2009, TIME Magazine reported.

So, how does Boston stack up?

According to data provided to Boston dot com from Mayor Marty Walsh’s press office, there were a total of 661 dog bites in the city of Boston between January 2012 and June 2014, which included bites against animal, human and unknown victims.

Of these 661 bites, 150 were caused by pit bulls and 30 from pit bull mixes, making over one-fourth of the bites coming from pit bull breeds.

Pit bulls make up a little over 3 percent of the entire dog population of Boston. There are 250 registered pit bulls, pit bull mixes and Staffordshires listed as registered in the 2014 list of dog licenses, as provided to Boston dot com, with a total of 7,355 registered dogs in the city.

The data defines ‘pit bull’ as a dog having American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire, pit bull or Staffordshire as either the primary or secondary breed.

“Attacks by pit bulls are associated with higher morbidity rates, higher hospital charges, and a higher risk of death than are attacks by other breeds of dogs. Strict regulation of pit bulls may substantially reduce the US mortality rates related to dog bites,” according to a 2011 study conducted by the Annals of Surgery.

After a young girl was recently attacked by pit bulls at her grandfather’s house in Mississippi and suffered a broken nose, jaw, cheekbone and eye socket, TIME Magazine looked at the “problem behind pit bulls.”

Much of the attention given to this story on social media was drawn to the claim that a KFC worker allegedly asked the girl to leave the restaurant because of the scars on her face, but TIME gave attention to the initial dog attack.

According to WBUR, Governor Deval Patrick in 2012 added an amendment to the Animal Control Act, which “strikes down any breed-specific legislation that cities or towns may have in place.” It stated:

No order shall be issued directing that a dog deemed dangerous be removed from the town or city in which the owner of such dog resides. No city or town shall regulate dogs in a manner that is specific to breed.

This amendment overturned what was known as Boston’s Responsible Pit Bull Ownership Act, which, according to Wicked Local, was created in 2004 by Boston City Councilor Rob Consalvo. The ordinance had a variety of restrictions against pit bulls, specifically:

“The ordinance stated that pit bulls must be muzzled on public property; owners have to put up a ‘beware of dog’ sign on their property; there could be only two pit bulls per residential dwelling; and all pit bulls must be spayed or neutered.”
Since the the Responsible Pit Bull Ownership Act was overturned in 2012, the numbers, according to the dog attack data for Boston, stand as follows:

– So far in 2014: 39 pit bull bites out of 123 total. 32 percent of dog attacks were from pit bulls.

But, some people seem to think that pit bulls’ aggressive nature is a byproduct of genetics.

Harrison Forbes, author of the book “Dog Talk” told The Globe:

“Pit bulls are very strong dogs. They were bred initially to hunt large animals. And for more than 200 years after that, they were bred to be fighters. You can breed certain things out of dogs, too. But that does not happen after just one or two generations. It will take a while, during which time any change will be attributable to resonsible dog ownership.”

Pit bulls are especially popular in Louisiana and Mississippi, and many of the volunteers responding to Hurricane Katrina found themselves saving stranded dogs. Most of the pit bulls they saved had been kept inside and behaved well around the rescuers, Clifton said, because they knew their survival depended on it. The dogs who were rescued were good pit bulls, he says, and “the real badasses, the ones chained outside, were drowned.”

Clifton said that many of the volunteers, who had very little experience with dog rescue, became attached to the breed and involved in pit bull advocacy. And that helped galvanize the pro-pit bull movement in the wake of Michael Vick’s 2007 dog-fighting scandal. That movement helped encourage more people to adopt pit bulls as lack of sterilization caused the population to grow.

“If you need a marker in your head for when pit bulls got out of control, it’s 2007 with Michael Vick,” Lynn says. Vick’s high-profile trial for dogfighting and cruelty to animals roused a growing sympathy for pit-bulls, which led more people to adopt them and bring them into their homes.

Dogbites.org
“We need to get used to mauling injuries, because we’re going to be seeing a lot more of them.” warns Lynn. “Each of us will know a mauled, disfigured child by a known dangerous breed of dog. There will be one in every school.”

But what can be done about the growing number of pit bulls? Some say that the best solution would be breed-specific sterilization, which would curb the pit bull population and reduce euthanizations in shelters. Most dogs of all breeds are spayed and neutered– about 80%, by Clifton’s estimation. But only 20% of pit bulls are sterilized, partly because the population that owns pit bulls tends to resist the spay-neuter message. He notes that there are a number of free sterilization programs for pit bulls, including one run by the ASPCA, but that even the largest programs aren’t sterilizing enough pit bulls to reduce the number of shelter intakes.

Lynn agrees that breed-specific sterilization laws are the most humane and efficient way to deal with the situation and avoid having more dogs euthanized. “If you want to hit that ‘no-kill’ status, you better do something about the pit bull problem.” Pit bulls currently account for 63% of the dogs put down in shelters, but only 38% of the admissions. Lynn says that all pit bulls should be sterilized, except those that come from licensed breeders.

Even PETA, the largest animal rights organization in the world, supports breed-specific sterilization for pit bulls. “Pit bulls are a breed-specific problem, so it seems reasonable to target them,” said Daphna Nachminovitch, PETA’s Senior Vice President of Cruelty Investigations. “The public is misled to believe that pit bulls are like any other dog. And they just aren’t.” Even the ASPCA acknowledges on their website that pit bulls are genetically different than other dogs. “Pit bulls have been bred to behave differently during a fight,” they say. “They may not give warning before becoming aggressive, and they’re less likely to back down when clashing with an opponent.”

Opponents of sterilization argue that it can be difficult to determine which dogs are pit bulls, and that breed-specific efforts are unfair to certain dogs. “When you discriminate against a breed, you’re also discriminating against good dogs as well,” Enos said. Setter of Pit Bull Rescue Central opposes breed-specific sterilization because she says it’s ineffective, because the laws don’t target irresponsible owners.

But Nachminovitch said that PETA stands by breed-specific sterilization as a common-sense solution to what has become a human safety issue. “These dogs were bred to bait bulls. They were bred to fight each other to the death,” she said. “Just because we’re an animal rights organization doesn’t mean we’re not concerned about public safety.”

It’s horrible that KFC kicked out that 3-year-old girl, but let’s focus on the real problem: pit bulls were bred to be violent

The social media universe became furious at KFC this week after an employee asked a three-year old victim of a dog attack to leave one of their restaurants because “her face is disrupting our customers.”

But it wasn’t KFC employees who broke down the door to Victoria Wilcher’s grandfather’s house and mauled the toddler until half her face was paralyzed and she lost the use of one of her eyes. Three pit bulls did that.

Pit bulls make up only 6% of the dog population, but they’re responsible for 68% of dog attacks and 52% of dog-related deaths since 1982, according to research compiled by Merritt Clifton, editor of Animals 24-7, an animal-news organization that focuses on humane work and animal cruelty prevention.

Clifton himself has been twice attacked by dogs (one pit bull,) and part of his work involves logging fatal and disfiguring attacks. Clifton says that for the 32 years he’s been recording, there has never been a year when pit bulls have accounted for less than half of all attacks. A CDC report on dog-bite fatalities from 1978 to 1998 confirms that pit bulls are responsible for more deaths than any other breed, but the CDC no longer collects breed-specific information.

Another report published in the April 2011 issue of Annals of Surgery found that one person is killed by a pit bull every 14 days, two people are injured by a pit bull every day, and young children are especially at risk. The report concludes that “these breeds should be regulated in the same way in which other dangerous species, such as leopards, are regulated.” That report was shared with TIME by PETA, the world’s largest animal rights organization.

The little girl’s grandfather shot and killed the three dogs that attacked her, and both he and his girlfriend are facing child-endangerment charges. KFC has donated $30,000 to the girl’s family to help with her medical bills, and more money keeps flooding in. But so far the outrage has been directed at the rude KFC employee, not at growing problem of pit bull maulings.

As pit bull attacks become more and more common, they’re getting increasing attention on social media, but not always in support of the wounded children. In March, a Facebook petition to save Mickey, a dangerous pit bull in Phoenix, got over 70,000 likes.

Mickey was facing euthanization for mauling 4-year old Kevin Vincente so badly that he cracked his jaw, eye socket, and cheekbone. Vincente is facing months of reconstructive surgery, but more people were concerned with saving the dog than helping the boy. Mickey’s Facebook page has now become a social media landing page to save other dogs that are considered dangerous.

Clifton says he’s seen an unprecedented rise in dog maulings in recent years, as more pit bulls enter the shelter system. Between 1858 and 2000, there are only two recorded instances of shelter dogs killing humans. From 2000 to 2009, there were three fatal attacks involving shelter dogs (one pit bull, one breed similar to a pit bull, and one Doberman.) But from 2010 to 2014, there have been 35 shelter dogs who fatally attacked humans. All but 11 were pit bulls.

Supporters say pit bulls are getting a bad rap. Sara Enos, founder and president of the American Pit Bull Foundation, said that it’s wrong to blame dog attacks on pit bulls, because it’s the owners who are to blame. “It really boils down to being responsible owners,” she said. “Any dog from any breed can be aggressive, it matters how it’s treated.” And, as TIME reported in 2013, pit bull owners all over the country are trying to rebrand the breed, insisting pit bulls can have a softer side when treated humanely.

Many pit bull advocacy organizations, including BAD RAP, did not want to comment for this story. But there is a growing backlash against the idea that pit bulls are more violent than other dogs. “There is not any breed of dog that is inherently more dangerous,” said Marcy Setter of the Pit Bull Rescue Center. “That’s simply not true.”

But critics say that pit bulls are inherently dangerous no matter how they’re treated, because violence is in their DNA. “Why do herding dogs herd? Why do pointing dogs point? They don’t learn that behavior, that’s selective behavior,” says Colleen Lynn, President and Founder of DogsBite.org, a national dog bit victims group dedicated to reducing dog attacks. “Pit bulls were specifically bred to go into that pit with incredible aggression and fight.”

“Every kind of dog is neglected and abused,” Clifton agrees. “And not every kind of dog responds to the neglect and abuse by killing and injuring people.”

But there’s another root cause of the rise in pit-bull attacks, one you might not think of: Hurricane Katrina.